Baltimore City Fire Department


The Baltimore City Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1797 and established in 1859, the Baltimore City Fire Department covers an area of of land and of water, with a resident population of over 640,000 and a daytime population of over 1,000,000. The BCFD responds to approximately 235,000 emergency calls annually. There are two International Association of Fire Fighters locals; IAFF 734 for firefighters and IAFF 964 for officers.

History

Baltimore's early firefighting was performed by volunteers. The various companies engaged in serious rivalries, resulting in what a Baltimore mayor termed "irregularities". For example, gangs operating out of firehouses participated in the Know-Nothing Riot of 1856. A municipal organization was established in 1859.
The Great Baltimore Fire in 1904 burned for 30 hours straight and decimated a major part of central Baltimore, including over 1,500 buildings. Mutual aid companies from as far away as Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City were called in to assist. The fire led to uniform national standards in fire fighting equipment and protocols. As with other large fires of the time, it was a predecessor to the stringent fire codes of today.

Operations

The Baltimore City Fire Department responds from 37 fire stations located throughout the city. The BCFD operates 32 engine companies, 17 truck companies, three squad companies, one rescue company, three fireboats, 21 full-time advanced life support medic units, six full-time basic life support ambulances, nine peak time basic life support ambulances, and numerous special, support, and reserve units. These companies and units are organized into six battalions, each under the command of a battalion chief. Each battalion chief reports to the on-duty shift commander.

Staffing

All engine Companies,squad Companies and truck companies are staffed with four personnel on each shift. The Rescue Company is staffed with either three or four members. Each engine company and squad company is staffed by either a lieutenant or captain, a pump operator, and two firefighters on each shift. Each truck company is staffed by a lieutenant or captain, an emergency vehicle driver , and 2 firefighters on each shift. The rescue company is staffed by a lieutenant or captain, an EVD and one or two firefighters respectively. The captain of a Baltimore City Fire Department fire company is in command of that company. In a fire station with more than one fire company, the senior captain of one of the two or more companies is the "house captain", in command of that fire station. Each Baltimore City Fire Department Medic unit is staffed by two personnel each shift, one of whom is an Advanced life support provider. Each Baltimore City Fire Department ambulance is staffed by two EMT personnel each shift. Each battalion chief's unit is operated by a battalion chief.

Response profiles

All emergency responses are dispatched to field units by the Fire Communications Bureau using pre-determined response profiles from the computer-aided dispatch system. Units can be special-called by any field unit once an incident is underway, however, the greater alarm system is typically used to request additional resources. Where the response calls for an engine, the response could be an engine OR squad.
The Baltimore City Fire Department utilizes a variety of standardized and specialized apparatus to carry out its duties. The apparatus assigned to the Baltimore City Fire Department are:

In popular culture

The movie Ladder 49 portrays the BCFD, with a fictional truck company. Additionally members of the BCFD served as advisors for the film.

Frequencies

The Baltimore City Fire Department operates on a 800mhz APCO-25 Phase 1 digital system. This is a list of simulcast VHF frequencies to program into a scanner or radio to listen to BCFD radio communication:
ChannelFrequencyUse
1154.310VHF backup
3154.385Fireground 1, 2, 3 or 4 simulcast
5154.415A2 dispatch simulcast
6154.145A1 main simulcast

Baltimore civil unrest of 2015

During the civil unrest in Baltimore that took place from April 27, 2015 to April 28, the Baltimore Fire Department was backed up with multiple calls and also battled against rioters. Many fire trucks were damaged by rioters; bottles and rocks were thrown at the trucks as they were responding to incidents. In one case there is also video footage of a citizen cutting a fire truck's fire hose in an effort to hinder its effectiveness. The Baltimore Fire Department responded to 144 vehicle fires and 15 structure fires during the course of the unrest. Many surrounding areas such as Howard County Fire & Rescue, Anne Arundel County Fire Department and Prince George's County Fire Department sent crews to Baltimore to help the Baltimore Fire Department during the riots.